Pages tagged "Aberavon"

There was fantastic community spirit in Cwmafan for their first ever Christmas tree switch on. Well done to Councillors Charlotte Galsworthy, Rhydian Mizen and David Whitelock, and the whole community for coming together and pulling together such a great event.

It was great to visit the ‘Face to Face’ exhibition in our Civic Centre. Local artist Bert Evans has produced some truly outstanding portraits. Very disconcerting to see my mug shot hanging on the wall, though!!

Bert started painting the portraits after some disparaging remarks about Port Talbot, he wanted to see whether the portraits would capture the positive feelings he and others have towards the town. With over 100 portraits in the exhibition they capture Bert's love of Taibach and Port Talbot.

It was a busy morning at Baglan Library for my coffee morning with David Rees AM and local Councillors Carol Clement and Suzanne Renkes. Spoke with residents about bus services, private medical treatment and the quality of new build housing.

It was a privilege to be at the Quins ground for the Jonah Lomu legacy match. There was a great atmosphere there to mark ten years since the New Zealand legend played for Aberavon Naval club in a charity exhibition match. There was entertainment from Cymric Welsh Male Voice Choir, Lily Duncan sang the National Anthem, music from a brass band, and embers of the Fijian & Tongan communities of Britain performed a traditional Maori War Dance. It was a fitting tribute to a legend of the game who gave his time to help a local team.

I visited the Foodbank in Carmel Chapel to see first-hand the great work they do to support the most vulnerable in our town. It was great to be able to run a surgery there and offer some advice to constituents and grow our links with the foodbank to support them in every way I can.

It was great to join First Minister Carwyn Jones and David Rees AM on a visit to the newly opened Ysgol Cwm Brombil. We were taken on a well-informed tour by the school’s prefects and had a great chat about how the new facilities are working for them. It was wonderful to see the school’s new layout preparing for the incoming new curriculum in Wales and the innovative the school has incorporated independent study and group study.

Ysgol Cwm Brombil is an amazing 21st century school, showing the Welsh Labour Government and Neath Port Talbot Council once again delivering vital investment in our community, and in our future generations.

It was great to meet Kate Ellis from Baglan at the Women's Equality Network Wales reception in Parliament. Kate was one of the twenty-six aspirational women who are part of WEN Wales' mentoring programme to get more women, and more diverse women, into public and political life. WEN Wales has done fantastic work championing equality for women in politics and public life.

The Chancellor's budget is just less of the same. More austerity, more cuts. Universal Credit isn’t working and this budget doesn’t go anywhere near fixing it. We need whole nation Labour government, to re-unite our deeply divided country.